Vanguard Life Strategy

redpete

savingsaving2015 wrote: »

Ok, so if i go with the INC route i can simply withdraw the cash to me, or re-invest in the scheme I am in?

One of the big advantages of investing over a long period is the effect of compound interest / income. If you withdraw the income then this won't happen.

TheTracker

bowlhead99 wrote: »

With Vanguard you could go to them direct as well, but you need £100k minimum to be a direct customer...

I understand it to be 100k per fund, and that they do not offer ISA or SIPP wrappers.

dunstonh

I am not recommending any funds as I need to be careful of the regulatory requirements. This is purely giving an example of on/off platform with a comparable investment.

L&G multi-index funds - http://www.landginvestments.com/funds/multi-index/

Unlike the VLS, they have no dilution levy but in clean form they are a tad more expensive. Although they have a wider asset spread. 0.31% clean vs 0.24% with VLS.

If you invest directly with L&G you get a different share class (class F) which is 0.5%. So, total cost is 0.50%.

If you invest in VLS via a platform and say use HL, then its 0.45% for the platform and 0.24% for the fund (plus a 0.1% dilution levy - although to be honest, that is insignificant). So, this puts L&G direct at 0.50 vs VLS at 0.69.

You cannot buy VLS direct unless you have over £100k and you can only buy it unwrapped (no tax wrapper such as pension, ISA, bond etc)

savingsaving2015

Hello.

Thank you for the info so far.

Is anyone using charles stanley direct? There fees seem lower then HL and no exit fee. HL currently charge £30 i think to exit!?

BLB53

I am thinking about £100-£150 per month for 15-20 years and my risk level is medium/med.high.

Once this is sorted, any advise/tips as to any other funds to add to the Vanguard?

I think Vanguard LS is a good choice for starters - you probably dont want too much in bonds in the early years so probably go for the LS80.

For brokers, possibly the better option is Charles Stanley Direct as the platform fee for funds is 0.25%, they have a good reputation and website and there are no charges to buy the funds. The total costs are therefore under 0.5%.

Of course, CSD offers far more flexibility to hold other funds in the future - if you go with L&G you are restricted to their funds only so for that reason I would avoid.

puk999

dunstonh wrote: »

If you invest directly with L&G you get a different share class (class F) which is 0.5%. So, total cost is 0.45%.

If the fund is 0.5% how can the total cost be lower than that?

guymo

savingsaving2015 wrote: »

Is anyone using charles stanley direct? There fees seem lower then HL and no exit fee. HL currently charge £30 i think to exit!?

I would imagine that many people are using Charles Stanley Direct. I have an ISA with them and have had no problems with their service. They are indeed cheaper than HL for buying and holding funds. If you want to add shares (including ETFs) then the trading costs are on the higher side.

Monevator's broker comparison table is somewhat useful when choosing a platform:

http://monevator.com/compare-uk-cheapest-online-brokers/

enthusiasticsaver

I am investing in Vanguard Lifestrategy 60 with Cavendish online which charges the same as Charles Stanley. It is working ok for me so far. I have been drip feeding £1000 monthly in since January and will be investing a further lump sum in May from a matured cash isa split between the VLS 60, VLS 40 and VLS 80.

tigerspill

savingsaving2015 wrote: »

Hello.

Thank you for the info so far.

Is anyone using charles stanley direct? There fees seem lower then HL and no exit fee. HL currently charge £30 i think to exit!?

I use CSD and have found them very good so far. I have called them a few time and always had good response. I have transferred several ISAs from other providers and these have all transferred flawlessly.
So no complaints so far.

I also went for the VLS 40 as my core holding with a few other satellite funds.

savingsaving2015

Thank you again for the replies.

Can i ask the main difference between the different Vanguards?(20,40,60,80,100)

Taking the following as an example -

VLS 60% Acc

Latest buy price 14,293.26 GBX
Latest Sell Price 14,293.26 GBX
Price Change +0.62950%
Fund Size £653.000mn
Fund Type OEIC
Classification Accumulation
Launch Date 23/06/2011
Yield 1.2200%
TER
TER explained
/OCF
OCF explained
0.24%
Initial Charge 0%
AMC
AMC explained
0.24%
Dividend Dates 30/05/2015

what areas in the key information should i be keeping an eye on? Are there any other areas i need to pay attention too?

Thank you